softwateronly

A MH/MF would be my first choice. I throw those on 7'6 MH Expride. I like the longer rod for casting distance on my water. scott

Learning how to "weigh" your jig by feel is key. Then learning the general feel of all the different cover you're fishing. When something different happens, reel down till weight and swing. It's the real reason why I have jig rods. I've gotten used to all their tells and nuances. scott

What a trip! Congrats on finding a way even when the weather was less than cooperative most of the time. The Great lakes are special, but Erie is something else. scott

Man, there are times when I think I have my lake figured out and then there's these last 2 weeks. The cold air and rain left me finding only bucks on or near the flats for days with an occasional jig or jerkbait female off the breaks. Then yesterday, I made a daytime run to the S end and got into 2 groups of prespawners on a finesse jig, all good and healthy in the 2-3lb range, finally. So I went back S around midnight to the large weedy flat near there and found all the decent fish I'd been missing. Nighttime, bright moon, glide/twitch bait was getting destroyed, so much fun! scott

I guess my brain was thinking the 18 jdm model should have been more specific...... https://www.digitaka.com/item/5/4/2/4969363038555 scott

Shimano also has the bantam in pg. scott

He’s coming for us all….. scott

In bc I’ve only owned shimano and diawa. Not the best person to ask. I think the curado and tatula are both very good platforms. So stick with the curado. It’s a workhorse you’re familiar with. scott

For the freestyle and other texsposed big swimmers, I like 7’6 expride/adrena XH. Stout, light weight, sensitive, mod fast, distance casters. My hookup percentage on the needed long casts has been great. I don’t throw the regular 6” often but did with a dobyns 735 no problem. scott

In general, I prefer 7speed reels but I really think an 8 speed works against you fishing any swimbait. It’s easy to over work glides and magdrafts. . I would look into something lower. scott

MB Tequila Baccarac. It's the ultimate heavy junk rod for me, swimbaits single and treble, spinnerbaits, jigs, spoons, big topwater, etc. I don't love the P5 trigger on it, but have gotten used to it and it's an awesome reason for a zillion hd. scott

I recently bought 2-piece MC Days rods (692M 702X), and have been blown away by their quality. If you stick MC for a L or UL maybe look jdm sites because the 2-piece eliminates any shipping charge making the days about $30 more than benkei. This is the one I have an eye on... https://www.ebay.com/itm/144928268072?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kDevXC_LRPq&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY scott

I think you're set up really well. For flukes, I prefer casting and 7'2 and under. I don't know enough about Kistler and Falcon but would be interested in trying them on any of your rods. The Kistler 6'9 LMH looks like a similar rod to what I throw and would be what I try first. If you really like 1/2oz jigs, and your MN water gets as weedy as my MI water, I think you could eventually get a 6'10-7'3ish H/XH. This rod could also give you a frogging/weedless swimbait option if you're interested, might open up some fun summertime power fishing. scott

Thanks, good info scott

Love the wobble head talk, I need to incorporate that more into my choices. Thanks for the honest run down, they're my best teachers. Just curious, were you swimming your swimbait mid column? Did you ever try dragging it or slow reeling with constant bottom contact? scott

Think I saw Matt Stefan talking about it, haven’t tried it myself. Thanks for the heads up. Those are some tanks. scott

Berkley deal swimbait? scott

I had a 7'6M spinning about 10 years ago. Really liked it, was my 2nd favorite rod behind a 7'Avid ML. Found it to be sensitive with a good tip. If I hadn't blown it up snagging it on a back cast, I'd still be using it today. I can't imagine you won't enjoy it at that price. Congrats on a good find. scott

Makes sense. I also like a gambler burner worm for shallow grass. I had success with title shots last year before work got too busy, I think they could make a nice fast bottom contact option. scott

If it's not that filamentous algae, I'd throw a swim jig w/ a paddle tail. I fish a 90 acre lake that has about 45 acres of a 2-4' shelf. 3/8oz swim jig does loads of damage for me there. scott

If you're adding $30, make it $45 and get a 2 piece major craft benkei 692MH RF/702H RF. This is the best bang for the buck rod I've run into and a quality 2 piece means it can live in your vehicle much easier. Took me a long time to give major craft a shot, but I'm certainly glad I finally did. They have exceeded all expectations in sensitivity, feel, and looks. The 2 piece Days rods are more enjoyable to fish than my exprides, I'm completely blown away. https://www.ebay.com/itm/145012245151?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=kDevXC_LRPq&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY https://www.ebay.com/itm/372475970369?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=EWANWlDWSuS&sssrc=2047675&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY scott

I have that same rod/reel combo and have never really thrown toads. Nice to see there’s yet another technique that this crazy flexible combo can do well. It’s the most I ever spent on a combo but keeps delivering in unexpected ways. scott

swimjig jerkbait little hair jig small underspin Big jig glidebait chatterbait 8" hudd/SG I love starting with a 3/4oz swimjig w/ a 4.5" paddletail because I can cover water while maintaining bottom contact at a medium retrieve from inches to 20 fow. I can also speed up or slow down to get some clues on depth, relation to breaks, and wether they seem to be looking up or down. If they're smashing while swimming, I add in the big baits, or biting while tracing the bottom, I add in dragging a big jig or hopping a chatterbait. If I get no feedback, I work the jerkbait, hair jig, and underspin to check if I need a smaller profile and/or slower cadence. scott

Now I'm gonna thread a worm on a jig...

All sorts of flavors.... https://fintechjigs.com/product-category/title-shot/ scott